Inner Sphere Honor Guard
”We shall bring honor and glory to the Inner Sphere!" ~~ISHG rallying cry =Unit History= Succession Wars Era As part of the 22nd Avalon Hussars garrison on the world of Quentin, Michael A. Vaught, John L. Edimons, Alexander S. Vanderbilt, and Francois R. Merlot fought bravely to fend off the first invasion of the planet by the DCMS 40th Dieron Regulars during the War of 3039. Quickly realizing that they would be fighting a losing battle if they stayed, the four of them helped some locals fight back, and they all escaped the system on a civilian dropship as it was due to dustoff. Once aboard, they found that the dropship was carrying deliveries destined to Robinson. Taking things in stride, Alexander handled the negotiations, and the ride went smoothly for everyone. Once on Robinson, Alexander was able to give everyone refuge thanks to his connections on-planet. Once everyone had places to stay, Alexander looked around for other assignments. During his search, Alexander stepped into a bar for a drink. There he met Nora, a shrewd Fed Com senator who was on par with Alex on many levels. After the successful introduction, the two started visiting each other more, eventually leading to a strong, if a little tense, relationship, and the birth of Jonas A. Vanderbilt in October 3040. Meanwhile, Michael had instantly fallen in love with one of the Quentin refugees. The one in particular was Hikari, an airshow pilot who decided to fight the DCMS with her modified SB-27 Sabre using bombs the crews kept in case of an attack. After a bit of time recouping over the memories of their home planet, they realized they both had feelings for each other, and ended up getting married on New Avalon, leading to the birth of Elizabeth H. Vaught in September 3040. Francois, on the other hand, had a bit of an uneasy relationship with a reporter that tagged along with the refugees. She fell in love with Francois, while he was falling in love with being a technician. Through her insisting, and his giving in, they got together, leading to the birth of Deuce B. Merlot in January 3041. Having no place in the land of sentimentality, John joined a mercenary group where he could court money, fame, and respect. For the next ten years, Alex raised Jonas while Nora worked for the state. Michael raised Eliz alongside Hikari, who once again displayed her flying talents at a local airstrip. Francois took up tech classes and started working at local mechyards, while Deuce stayed home with his mom. Clan Invasion Era When the Clans invaded in 3050, Nora was able to gain access to initial reports about the threat through her connections with ComStar, and presented her case to her peers. When they brushed it off as a case of Periphery bandits, Nora told Alex about it. Wanting to fight the threat, and support his wife, Alex proposed that he could find out more about what they were dealing with if he commanded his own unit. Nora agreed, and after rallying Michael, Hikari, Francois, and the refugees together, Alex and Nora were able to convince ComStar's Mercenary Review Board to allow them to create the Inner Sphere Honor Guard in the image of the old SLDF to combat the threat. With ads sent throughout the Inner Sphere, Alex was able to attract enough pilots, mechs, techs and personnel to have a sufficient force. Surprisingly, John was one of the applicants, saying he recognized Alex’s name, and wanted to fight with him again. However, without reliable transportation, the ISHG would have a hard time getting to the front lines. Luckily, a civilian Invader jumpship was in orbit awaiting its cargo dropships. Taking a great political risk, Nora commandeered the ship for the ISHG by bribing its crew with enough money for every crew member to retire in happiness. Nora also did the same with an old Overlord dropship that was on planet. By this time, Jonas, Eliz, and Deuce were old enough to come along, and relished at the chance to see their parents in action. With everyone together, save for Nora and Deuce's mom, the ISHG embarked on its journey. For the next two years, the ISHG was able to find out more about the Clans, and sent back valuable information to Nora. Nora then used this information to convince her superiors that her "little stunt" was justified, and that she be given executive authority to build, staff, and fund a research and training base for counter-Clan tactics. After being given the green light, she had a base constructed on Caselton, and staffed it with personnel and military scientists from NAIS. After the Clans lost the battle to ComStar on Tukayyid, Alex and Nora gained the confidence, and the tactics they needed to start fighting the Clans for real. Creating a structured training program to prevent the Clan’s superior weapons from overpowering their forces, the unit trained for the next six years in in long-range sniping, networking, and artillery tactics. During this time, Alex wanted a bit more anonymimity when traveling, so he had Nora cook up a deal with Tengo Aerospace to have them build and deliver a custom Mule dropship to replace the aging Overlord. In return, Tengo would be allowed to produce and sell the design to whomever they wished. Intrigued by this deal, Tengo agreed and had a Mule converted to house mechs and ASFs, along with additional birthing and lifeboats to house the entire force comfortably. Once the dropship was delivered, the Alex gave Tengo the Overlord to use for R&D and to cut costs during the transaction. When everyone felt ready to take a bite out of the Clans, the ISHG left to do battle. Finding a suitable planet to attack, the ISHG invaded La Grave in 3058. After a successfull landing, the ISHG was quickly assaulted by Jade Falcon garrison forces responding to the threat. Caught off-guard, the ISHG suffered heavy losses, as everyone tried to secure the landing zone. After ordering a full retreat, Col. Alex and Hikari covered the unit’s escape. They succeeded, but not at the loss of themselves. Hikari died from a fatal shot to the cockpit, and Alex was taken Bondsman after ejecting from too much damage. From the dropship's command deck, Jonas, Eliz, and Michael were heartbroken at the loss. With the chain of command disrupted, John tried to take over command of the unit, saying Michael was unfit for the job. However, Michael, suspicious of John's behavior, put Jonas in command with an agreeable vote from the rest of the unit. Being eighteen at the time, Jonas was legally old enough to take command. Yet, he still had trouble dealing with the loss. As the ISHG embarked on the long trip home to lick its wounds, Jonas relied on Michael to release his emotions, and Michael took him in, like an adopted son. Eliz took her sadness, and turned it into a drive to be an ace pilot like her mother. Meanwhile, Deuce, after seeing what Clan mechs could do in battle, started having an obsession with owning and piloting one, and becomes insatiable to his father's assurances that he would be getting his own mech. Since Deuce's birth, Francois always wanted to give his son a mech worth his while. Putting his skills to use as the ISHG's Master Tech, he has been tinkering with a salvaged Orion in secret since the ISHG's inception. When he presented it to Deuce, Deuce still wasn't impressed. John, scorned after his attempt to take over, noticed Deuce's frustrations, and slowly embezzled ISHG funds to buy a worthy Clan mech off the black market. Once at home on Caselton, Jonas told his mother about what happened. After seeing Nora's grief, Jonas took her anger upon himself, and turned it into a raging hatred for the Clans. For the next four years, Jonas rebuilt the ISHG by accepting anyone who had a beef against the Clans into the ISHG, and put them through the training program. He also had the entire squadron of Stukas and the Mule upgraded with exclusive technology. During this time, John was able to obtain a modified Executioner A off the Free Rasalhauge/Draconis Combine black market. Deuce was overjoyed to finally be able to pilot his mech, and John smiled inwardly at gaining a loyal pawn. Also during this time, Alex had an interesting relationship with his captor. His captor admired Alex's feats in battle, and jumped at the chance to use Alex to boost his status in the Clan. After a long time of serving his captor, leaving clues wherever he could, learning how the Clans worked, and befriending freeborn techs, Alex was finally freed of his Bondsman status in 3062, and was given a chance to prove his worth in a Trial of Position. Given a slower than usual Summoner chassis to work with, Alex brushed off the prejudice, and had his freeborn tech friends build him a chassis worthy of the Trial. They did, and Alex earned himself the right to be called a Warrior of the Clan. Since then, Alex continued to serve under his captor (then a Star Commander) in hopes of gaining the opportunity to fight at the Inner Sphere front lines, and rejoin his son and wife. Civil War Era When Blackwell Corporation started selling the Light Engine to Inner Sphere factions in 3062, Nora tipped Jonas about it, and Jonas quickly upgraded every mech in the ISHG with the technology, improving their overall survivability. This would come in handy when the ISHG got swept up in the FedCom Civil War, and Jonas had to put aside his vendetta to have the ISHG focus its attention toward keeping the peace. Unfortunately, John's meddling increased the pro-Davion/pro-Steiner tensions within the unit, and made keeping the peace difficult. When the Truce of Tukayyid ended in 3067, the ISHG was taking refuge in the Arc-Royal Defense Cordon from the civil-war strife. There they got a call that Clan Jade Falcon was once again on the attack. This re-ignited Jonas' anti-Clan fire, and the ISHG quickly responded to the call. Similarly on Alex's side, with the Clan's renewed vigor to go on the offensive, he was able to play to his captor's ego enough to have them fight on the front lines. His captor (then a Star Captain) agreed, and performed sorties with Alex, sweeping through the Arc-Royal Defense Cordon with reckless abandon. On a backwater planet, they encountered Inner Sphere resistance. When his captor issued a Batchall for a Trial of Possession for the planet, Alex was surprised to find his son answered the call. Taking this new turn of events as a sign, Alex made sure that he was included in the Jade Falcon bid for the planet. During the Trial, Alex behaved differently than he normally would while on the attack. His shots went wild, only striking ISHG forces with glancing blows. Michael noticed this curious behavior, and acting on a hunch, told the seething Jonas not to fire at the Jade Falcon Summoner that was holding back. However, Jonas didn't heed his warnings, and instead went charging after the percieved weaker warrior. Michael meanwhile made sure to have every other ISHG warrior not bother the two. Alexander, using the maneuverability of the Summoner to his advantage, was able to avoid taking much damage, which frustrated Jonas to the point of wanting to know the name of the pilot. With pressure from his captor demanding why he was hesitating to engage the stravag, Alexander initiated the Clan ritual of zellbrigen saying he located the unit's commander and would now engage the enemy in a Circle of Equals. When he addressed himself to Jonas, Jonas was in disbelief that his father was alive, and wanted to fight him. However, Alexander was able to assure Jonas that he would be able to win if he targeted specific locations on his mech. Jonas agreed and succeeded in disabling his father's mech. Angered by Alex's cowardice, his captor brought his reserve forces to bear, ready to pummel the Inner Sphere barbarians before him. But before he could do anything, Jonas offered the Star Captain a deal based on further information seeded to him from Alex. In return for the courtesy of Hegira and the right to take the defeated pilot along with his mech as isorla, Jonas would admit to losing the Trial to Jade Falcon forces. After a tense half-hour, the Star Captain agreed, and ended the Trial without further hostilities. When the ISHG was safely away, everyone was happy that Alex was safe, and back in their camp. Especially Jonas and Nora, who couldn't be happier at that point. Jihad Era When the Jihad started in 3068, the ISHG initially didn't respond to the threat until a few years later due to the unit growing in size and purchasing new designs, new equipment, and two more dropships. Once thoroughly equipped, the ISHG set out in pursuit of Word of Blake forces. During the fighting, the unit was able to salvage a mostly intact Raptor II. Seeing the value of the Void Signature System first-hand, Jonas had the mech sent back to Caselton for analysis. Once on-planet, Nora and the scientists set to work to reverse-engineer the Void-sig system, and the installed Angel ECM Suite in its head. Later, Jonas would send back captured CASE II technology from the Free Worlds League for the scientists to produce. When the Jihad ended in 3081, the ISHG was finally able to relax and upgrade for the last time, installing all of the perfected technology, and perfecting its designs. Dark Age Era To this day, the ISHG serves the Republic of the Sphere as a peacekeeping force. =Unit Summary= As of 3081, the unit consists of a single regiment of mechs divided into three battalions. Each battalion is commanded by two of the major players of the unit. Battalion 1: Commanded by Col. Jonas, and Mechwarrior Col. Alex. Battalion 2: Commanded by Lieut. Col. Michael, and Maj. Eliz. Battalion 3: Commanded by Lieut. Col. John, and Capt. Deuce. Aerospace Wing: Individually commanded as squadrons by the major players of each battalion, but Col. Jonas and Maj. Eliz also have executive authority over the all the unit's ASFs in a pinch. Force Breakdown * 1 Jumpship (Veteran crew) * 3 Dropships (Veteran crew) * 30 Light mechs * 37 Medium mechs * 37 Heavy mechs * 4 Assault mechs * 30 Green (5/6-5/5) Mechwarriors * 31 Regular (4/5-4/4) Mechwarriors * 31 Veteran (3/4-3/3) Mechwarriors * 13 Elite (2/3-2/2) Mechwarriors * 3 Super Elite (1/2-1/1) Mechwarriors * 18 Assault ASFs * 18 Aerospace Pilots (Veteran 3/4-3/3) * 144 Techs (Regular) * 72 Astechs * 3 Doctors (Veteran) * 3 Paramedics * 6 Logistical Admins (Veteran) * 3 Transport Admins (Veteran) Unit Designs Regular Mechs: * (http://www.sarna.net/forums/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/157059/an/0/page/0#157059) ISHG OTT-7-2 and OTT-9-(3/X) Ostscout * (http://www.sarna.net/forums/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/157061/an/0/page/0#157061) ISHG GRF-3-2 and OTT-6-(3/X) Griffin * (http://www.sarna.net/forums/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/157062/an/0/page/0#157062) ISHG BL-9-(2/3/X)-KNT Black Knight Aerospace Units: * (http://www.sarna.net/forums/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/158334/an/0/page/0#158334) ISHG STU-DART (1/X) Stuka * (http://www.sarna.net/forums/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/158650/an/0/page/0#158650) ISHG Mule (Modified/Upgrade) Character Mechs: * (http://www.sarna.net/forums/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/157063/an/0/page/0#157063) ISHG PXH-(1/3/X) Phoenix Hawk LAM, piloted by Elizabeth H. Vaught * (http://www.sarna.net/forums/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/158873/an/0/page/0#158873) ISHG T-IT-N(1/2/3/X) Grand Titan, piloted by John L. Edimons * (http://www.sarna.net/forums/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/157071/an/0/page/0#157071) ISHG HGN-(1/2/3/X) Highlander, piloted by Michael A. Vaught * (http://www.sarna.net/forums/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/157077/an/0/page/0#157077) ISHG VTR-(1/2/3/X) Victor, piloted by Jonas A. Vanderbilt * (http://www.sarna.net/forums/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/157078/an/0/page/0#157078) ISHG Executioner (Custom A/A2), piloted by Deuce B. Merlot * (http://www.sarna.net/forums/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/157184/an/0/page/0#157184) ISHG Summoner (Custom Prime), piloted by Alexander S. Vanderbilt =Character Bios= Coming soon! Category:MercenaryCommandsCustom